The Prospect's Girl

Help

You were walking out of the carnicería when you bumped into a hard body. Your purse dropped, spilling everywhere. The bag carrying your meat order fell too, but luckily it didn't spill.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry! Let me help you."

You looked up at the man offering to help, and he took your breath away. He was tall, dark and really fucking handsome. He crouched down to help you clean up your things, before standing and extending a hand to help you up. When you put your palm in his, you felt a shock.

"Thank you for helping me."

"No problem. I'm EZ, by the way. Ezekiel."

"Nice to meet you, Ezekiel. I'm y/n." You realized you were still holding his hand, so you gently slipped it from his grip. "I'm sorry to run into you and run off, but I have to get back. It was nice to meet you."

You hurried home. You'd already been gone too long. Your boyfriend wasn't going to be happy. That meant he was probably going to take it out on you. Not the first time. You could handle it. You had to, until you could find a way out.

EZ walked into his Pop's shop, and called out a hello.

"That girl that was just in here. She come in often?"

"You mean y/n? Si. Ella está aquí cada Martes y Viernes. Nice girl. I worry about her. Pretty sure she has a man at home who hits her." (Yes. She's here every Tuesday and Friday.)

Hearing this pissed EZ off. You didn't deserve that. No woman did. He couldn't imagine raising a hand to a woman like that.

"What do you know about her?"

Felipe told him everything he knew, which wasn't much. You tried not to talk about yourself. Your boyfriend didn't want you to, and you didn't want to get in trouble.

While you were at home cooking the roast from Felipe, your boyfriend was at Vicki's. You knew he was cheating on you. You honestly didn't care. Any time he spent out cheating was time you didn't have to be with him. If you had money or somewhere to go, you'd already be gone. But, without resources, you knew he'd find you and kill you. He'd made sure you couldn't reach out to family or friends. He took away your phone and made you quit your job. You were scared of what he would do if you didn't listen.

Once the food was ready, you plated yours and ate. He wouldn't like it, but you were hungry. You'd been late to get home, so he was going to hit you anyway. Might as well get to eat first. You wanted out. He kept tabs on you, though. You knew he had put a tracker on your car. You just didn't know where. You felt trapped.

Meanwhile, EZ couldn't stop thinking about you. He didn't know what it was, but he felt something when he'd held your hand. Something he hadn't felt before. Something he wanted to feel again. He was determined to see you again. He would be back at Pop's on Friday. He'd make sure of it.

Unfortunately, Friday came and went with no sign of you. He didn't know it, but you couldn't come to the carnicería because you were in the hospital. Your boyfriend had found out you were out for an extra 10 minutes on Tuesday, so he punished you. That resulted in three broken ribs and a concussion. He tended to avoid the face, but he'd kicked you too hard in the side and you smacked your head on the wall. You had a nasty goose egg above your ear, and a little bruising on your face. Not much. All things considered, your face didn't really show any signs of what you'd been through. You were almost relieved that it had happened. This was your ticket to freedom.

You didn't know who else to call when the hospital demanded that you have a ride home. So, you called the carnicería.

"Felipe? It's y/n. I know this is ridiculous and out of line, but my boyfriend put me in the hospital. They won't let me leave until they see that I have a ride. I don't want him to come here. I need a ride to a shelter or somewhere. Can you help? Por favor?"

Felipe agreed to give you a ride. Ten minutes later a truck pulled up outside the hospital. Instead of Felipe getting out, it was EZ.

"Ezekiel? What are you doing here?"

"My pop said you needed help. I'm here to help."

"Felipe is your father?"

He nodded, before telling the nurse he could help you into the truck. Once you were situated, he jogged around to the driver's side.

"Where to?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I don't really have anywhere to go. My boyfriend has been beating the shit out of me, and I've been trying to find a way to get out, but he won't let me work or have friends. This is the first chance I've had to be free in a couple years. He has a tracker on my car. I can't even take off in it and run from him. He doesn't know I'm being released yet."

"No worries, querida. I know where to take you."

He drove for awhile before pulling up outside Romero Scrapyard. You looked at him curiously, then finally noticed the kutte.

"You're a Mayan?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Of course not. My dad is too. I just don't know where he is or how to reach him. I didn't know there was a charter here."

"Whose your dad?"

"Obispo Losa."

"Mierda. Bish is our prez. Does he know you are in Santo Padre?"

"No. The last time I was able to talk to him, I was living in Michigan. I went to college there. That's where I met my boyfriend. He got a job out here at the hospital. Last I knew, my dad was in Oakland, but I couldn't find a way to contact mi padrino to find him."

"Who is your padrino?"

"Marcus Alvarez. He's my dad's primo."

EZ nodded as he parked the truck. So much for getting to know y/n. Bish would never let him date his daughter.

He jogged around the side of the truck to help you out. Once you were steady on your feet, he helped you walk inside. You were pretty sore. He helped you over to a couch and had you sit down. While he was helping you get situated, the Templo door opened, and out walked Bishop.

"Y/N?"

"Hi, daddy."

Bishop rushed over and scooped you up in a big hug.

"Oh, mija. Where have you been? I've tried to find you for a couple years. Your roommate said you moved out of state with your boyfriend after you graduated, and changed your number. I couldn't find you. Why haven't you called?"

You burst into tears. He hugged you closer and just let you cry on his shoulder while he rubbed your back.

"Shhh, bebita. It's ok. Everything is ok. I'll take care of you."

You calmed down some, but couldn't seem to bring yourself to talk. You looked helplessly at EZ.

"Do you want me to fill him in, y/n? I can have Chucky bring you some tea."

You nodded and smiled softly at EZ. You really liked him. He made you feel safe.